Many flock to Bali during Idul Fitri

JAKARTA (JP): One question which Jakartans often ask during the Idul Fitri holiday is "where has everyone gone"?

Apart from the obvious phenomenon of returning to their hometowns, Bali might be another answer.

I.G. Bagus Damara, the caretaker of the famed Tanah Lot temple, a popular tourist destination on the resort island, said on Tuesday that some 10,500 people visited the temple each day during the holiday season.

This number did not decline between the period of Dec. 25 and Jan. 10, adding that the majority of visitors were Indonesians, Antara reported.

He said this number was a significant increase over the 1,500 visitors per day the temple normally sees.

Bagus said the fact that Christmas, New Year's, Galungan and Idul Fitri fell so close to each other this year likely accounted for the increase in the number of visitors to this well-known destination some 20 kilometers southwest of Denpasar.

Initially there were worries that tourist arrivals to Bali would dip over the Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays because many foreigners had canceled trips to the island due to fears over the Y2K bug wreaking havoc on air travel.

However, the number of local tourists from major urban areas like Jakarta vacationing on Bali more than made up for the decline in the number of foreign tourists.